Nadal's AeroPro Drive

[Dangus]

I've been searching through the archives and I can't seem to find a concrete answer regarding how much lead Nadal adds to his AeroPro Drive.

One post suggests that Nadal places 15g at 12 o' clock, and 5g in the butt. (When they say in the butt, does that mean at 6 o'clock, or somewhere else?)

Another suggestion is that Nadal adds 9.5g under the bumperguard near the tip, and 2.5g one inch up from the end of the butt cap. Which is the correct measurement? Thanks in advance.

 

[MonkeyMan123]

http://www.rafaelnadalweb.com/biography.php

"Nadal plays with a Babolat Aero Pro Drive racket with Babolat Duralastc strings and has 15g of lead tape at the top of his racket under the bumper and 5g of lead in the handle"


The butt is at the end opposite the tip, or at the bottom of the grip.

Hope that helps

 

[Dangus]

Thanks for the quick response. Would I have to take off my grip to place the lead tape on the handle? Or could I just place the tape on top of my grip and wrap an overgrip to cover it?

 

[MonkeyMan123]

i think you should definetly take the grip off and put the lead tape on the bare handle. This might increase ur grip size barely. I dont think you should put it on top of the grip with an overgrip on top.

 

[Ash Doyle]

One post suggests that Nadal places 15g at 12 o' clock, and 5g in the butt. (When they say in the butt, does that mean at 6 o'clock, or somewhere else?)

When it says he puts 5g in the butt, it's just as it sounds. What do you think he's picking at in between points? (Sorry, I just had to do it)

 

[Dangus]

Thanks again! When I place the lead tape, should I have all of it at the bottom of the handle, or spread it out evenly? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[MonkeyMan123]

I think nadal has it all at the very bottom so u should too if u are trying to make it play like his. This thread might help with where exactly you want to place it because im not really sure of the best way to place lead on the butt of an APD.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=120475&highlight=weight+butt

 

[Safina]

Babolat racquets have trapdoor's that provide easy access for adding lead inside the racquet underneath the buttcahp.

 

[Pleepers]

But dooes he add the weight to a standard frame or a custome frame with different spects than the one that is sold to the public?

 

[Dangus]

Alright, I'm going to take off my grip and apply 5g of lead tape at the bottom of the handle. Thanks for all the help!

 

[a guy]

But dooes he add the weight to a standard frame or a custome frame with different spects than the one that is sold to the public?

Its a custom frame that can't be modified into with a stock racket apparently. A site showing the specs was posted here recently.

 

[MonkeyMan123]

Alright, I'm going to take off my grip and apply 5g of lead tape at the bottom of the handle. Thanks for all the help!

cool, tell us how it plays Dangus

 

[arodnadal]

so would u do 7.5 inces on both sides on the head or under the bumper if u used each inch equals one gram???

 

[Jules]

According to jura Nadals racquet spec as of French Open 2005 (I doubt they have changed much since then) are as follows:
Grip size: 2
Unstrung weight: 321 g
Balance point: 32.2 cm
Length: 68,5 cm

So if you want to make you racquet play anywhere near his those are the specs for you to duplicate rather than just adding lead to your stock frame...

But mind you that his racquet is probably not a stock model so there might be other differences in feel etc.

Also, remember that if you do the customization with the strings in, the overall weight is increased by app. 15-20 g and the balance point will be different from the one stated above...

 

[Jules]

I accidently stumbled over some newer info...praise to Greg Raven for supplying the info: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=123699

Rafael Nadal's Babolat Aeropro Drive
Racquet Mass Bal. cm RDC Flex Swgwt Length
Nadal's 332 33.5 65 355 26-7/8
USRSA 337 33.75 659 337 27
Tennis Warehouse 320 32.7 67 324 27

Notes on Nadal's racquet
This racquet may be shorter than spec due to hoop compression during stringing. I did not get a chance to measure the racquet unstrung.
There is no way to take a racquet with the specs given by USRSA and make it into a "Nadal" racquet. However, if one had a racquet with Tennis Warehouse's measurements, one could add roughly 9.5 grams under the bumperguard near the tip, and about 2.5 grams one inch up from the end of the butt cap to get a racquet with measurements very similar to those of Nadal's racquet.
It is not unheard of for otherwise identical brand new Babolat racquets to have 2 kg•cm² difference in flex.
Nadal's string reel reads "Pro Hurricane Nadal." The printing on the string itself reads "Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour," just like the normal Pro Hurricane Tour. However, the string is translucent, unlike the normal opaque Pro Hurricane Tour. Here is a 60x image with Nadal's string on top and the retail Pro Hurricane Tour on the bottom.
To the casual observer, Nadal's Pro Hurricane Tour looks and acts for all the world like Babolat Duralast.
Nadal requested that the crosses be strung from the bottom up.

 

[Dangus]

I added 15 grams at 12 o'clock and 5 grams in the butt. Would the racquet still be considered head light?

I haven't been able to test it out on the tennis courts just yet. I tore a ligament in my ankle and won't be able to play for another month or so.